Daily Prayer

God Never Changes

While our world is shaking and crumbling, we need to realize that one thing will never change, and that is God. He is the same today as he was ten million years ago, and will be the same ten million years from today. My prayer today is that we will feel the loving arms of God wrapped around us, and will know in our hearts that He will never forsake us as we trust in Him. ~Billy Graham

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prayer of renewal

The prayer today comes from 'Always True' by James MacDonald

Father, for all of us who daily need to renew our confidence and faith in You, help us now to lay hold of Your promise that You will never leave us nor forsake us. Help us to speak and live fearlessly because we are aware we are in Your presence.

Lord, You are with me. You are praying for me. I am not alone. Is there any greater assurance that I should not fear? Your promise stands, spoken over and over again in Your Word and satisfying Your followers throughout thousands of years - You are with me. I commit this truth to my heart right now. May the realization that this is our challenge, our trial and our burden strengthen and sustain me today.

In the power of Your Name,

Amen

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A Prayer in Spring

Today's prayer, by Robert Frost, comes with thanks to Bob Hostetler.

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

Amen

(by Robert Frost, from A Boy's Will)

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PRAYER IN THE SECRET PLACE

Do you have a Secret Place, where you can steal away and get lost in communication with the Lord. He so desires that from us. I have found some of my most precious times in prayer were in the "Secret Place". The following is from the "Worship Bible" and gives us a picture of what the Lords desires of us.

"My Beloved ~ Have you ever doubled My heart for you? Is that why you find it hard to ask for My help when you are in such great need? Have faith in your heavenly Father. Know that My promises are true.

If you ask of Me you will receive. Not on your terms, but on Mine. If you seek Me you will find Me; I will come to you. If you knock, I will open the door for you. I have spoken; I have promised; I have invited you to come to Me. Now I am awaiting your response.

I long to spend time alone with you. My beloved. Sometimes it is hard for you to be transparent with Me when other are around. So get away somewhere private, in your room or in a quiet garden. And when you come to Me in secret, I will demonstrate My goodness to you before many. They will know of My love for you.

If you wonder whether I desire to bless you, think about this: Even evil people know how to give good gifts to their children. So just imagine how much more I not only want to do, but also can do for you, if you will just ask Me. I am your heavenly Father, the Lord who delights in those who put their hope in My unfailing love.

(Ps 147:11, Mt.6:6,7:7-11, Jn.16:23, I Jn.5:14,15)

Amen

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Keeping the Faith

Luke 18:8 - “…Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?”

I believe with all my heart that the call needs to go out today more clearly than ever before for Christians to keep the faith. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, said, “The chief danger of the 20th century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and Heaven without Hell.” We are but one generation away from paganism. If this generation doesn’t keep the faith and pass it to the next, there will be no faith.
~Adrian Rogers

Are you passing the faith to the next generation? Here is your commission from the Lord: “Therefore shall ye lay up these My words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates.”
Deuteronomy 11:18-20

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Dear Lord,

I don't know where the weeks have gone. Somehow Fridays come and go before I have a chance to realize they are upon me. It isn't that I have nothing to pray for, in fact, I am overwhelmed with what should be brought before You.

Our country, our world, is in turmoil. Each week brings a new disaster and more heartache; earthquakes, flooding, tornadoes, and war. We are in desperate need but fail to realize that our own sin and rejection of You is at the heart of the problem. You are calling, pleading for our return, and we are deaf, blind, and headstrong.

In the midst of disaster You are still merciful, still loving. I pray we would repent before we are at the point of no return.

Forgive me, Lord.

Amen

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why pray?

I fear that, too often, we get the wrong idea about prayer and what it's all about. Some people even ask, "Why pray at all?" and yet others think the basic purpose of prayer is about obtaining things from God. George MacDonald offered this rationale for prayer in "Our Daily Bread" and I thought it was good enough to share:

What if God knows prayer to be the thing we need first

and most? What if the main object in God's idea of

prayer is a supplying of our great, our endless need - the

the need of Himself?... Communion with God is the one

need of the soul beyond all other need. Prayer is the

beginning of that communion, of talking with God, a coming-to-one

with Him, which is the sole end of prayer, yea of

existence itself.

I love the truth that God wants us to Himself. He desires communion with us! In fact, His Word tells us that He delights in us! His purpose in prayer is not about what it does for us in terms of receiving. It's about what it does for us in terms of giving. Giving Him praise and honor and all glory. He wants us to know Him in a sweet and intimate way. Prayer is the method He uses to accomplish that. Prayer is more than just about the hand of God granting us favor or mercy. Prayer is about that precious Hand of God period.

Sweet Father, give us eyes to see the majesty of who you are. Give us the ears to hear your voice speak and the desire to commune with you in prayer for nothing more than just to sit in your presence. Help us to see that prayer is not about us at all. It's all about you.

"But we will give ourselves continually to prayer,

and to the ministry of the Word"

(Acts 6:4)

Amen

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A beautiful prayer...

... found in the book Saintly Solutions to Life's Common Problems, by Fr. Joseph Esper.

God of mercy and truth,
You gave us the ability to speak
so that we might glorify You and
encourage our brothers and sisters.
Help me to overcome my tendency to
speak unkindly about others
and to criticize those around me.
Teach me instead to praise, to encourage, to defend,
and to say only those things I myself would
want to hear from someone else.
Form within me the habit of praying for help
in overcoming those faults I observe and of
speaking respectfully to those with whom I disagree.
Please give me also the courage to accept criticism
from others by responding calmly,
while honestly considering whether their remarks
contain wisdom and truth.
May all my words be pleasing to You
and beneficial to those who hear them. Amen.

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Memorial Day Prayer

A prayer from Austin Fleming, a pastor in Concord, Maine..

In the quiet sanctuaries of our own hearts,
let each of us name and call on the One whose power over us
is great and gentle, firm and forgiving, holy and healing…

You who created us,
who sustain us,
who call us to live in peace,
hear our prayer this day.

Hear our prayer for all who have died,
whose hearts and hopes are known to you alone…

Hear our prayer for those who put the welfare of others
ahead of their own and give us hearts as generous as theirs…

Hear our prayer for those who gave their lives
in the service of others, and accept the gift of their sacrifice…

Help us to shape and make a world
where we will lay down the arms of war
and turn our swords into ploughshares
for a harvest of justice and peace…

Comfort those who grieve the loss of their loved ones
and let your healing be the hope in our hearts...

Hear our prayer this day
and in your mercy answer us
in the name of all that is holy.

Amen

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A Prayer For Joplin

Dear Lord, I lift up our fellow citizens in Joplin, Missouri. I pray that You will comfort the ones who have lost friends and family when the killer tornado's hit. I also pray that You will cause many people to offer help and support as they start the long difficult rebuilding process.

I ask this in Jesus' name amen.

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prayer of restoration

"He restoreth my soul.... " (Psalm 23:3)

Precious Father, thank you for the act of restoration. It is so amazing to know that when we are broken and wounded, you can put us back together. You can restore that which was lost and we can be found. You can restore our hurts and and we can be whole. You are the one who can enable us to forgive. To show mercy. To bestow grace. You are the restorer of all things and for that we give you praise.

For anyone that is hurting at this time, I ask that you reach out your restorative Hands and pour out a healing balm to their souls. Soothe their spirits. Calm their nerves. Bind up the weary and broken pieces and grant them renewal in a mighty way. Revive them. Restore them. Do a powerful work in their lives that only you can do. We give you all glory and honor and praise that is so due your name. In the mighty, powerful, saving name of Jesus Christ,

Amen

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A prayer for a prisoner and those his actions have harmed.

For more than a decade, I have tried to carry faith behind prison doors by corresponding with some men on death row. One of them, Donald, is to be executed tomorrow. The chances of a stay are, at best, remote.

I ask you to pray for him, that he might be truly repentant and thus receive the forgiveness of our all-compassionate God. I pray for him to know the peace that passes understanding as he makes this final journey. I pray for Donald's family, and I pray especially for the soul of his victim and for those who mourn the loss of lives taken through violence and vengeance.

This is a prayer written by Sr. Helen Prejean:

God of Compassion,
You let your rain fall on the just and the unjust.
Expand and deepen our hearts
so that we may love as You love,
even those among us
who have caused the greatest pain by taking life.
For there is in our land a great cry for vengeance
as we fill up death rows and kill the killers
in the name of justice, in the name of peace.
Jesus, our brother,
you suffered execution at the hands of the state
but you did not let hatred overcome you.
Help us to reach out to victims of violence
so that our enduing love may help them heal.
Holy Spirit of God,
You strengthen us in the struggle for justice.
Help us to work tirelessly
for the abolition of state-sanctioned death
and to renew our society in its very heart
so that violence will be no more. Amen.

Amen

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PRASING GOD IN PRAYER

How different our lives would be if we were to begin each day by saying: I exist for the primary purpose of praising God. That's why I'm alive today!

Ephesians is the book of praise ~ and prayers ~

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." (Eph. 1:3,4)

Dear Lord, we praise you, we love you and we desire to live holy and blameless in your sight. Thank you for choosing us, and blessing us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. May this be our prayer each day! Amen.

Amen

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A Prescription for Loneliness

You may be a Christian and yet feel incredibly lonely. Let me give you a practical pointer for overcoming your loneliness. Quit dwelling on it. Reach out and try to help someone who is lonely.

Why don't you keep a stack of cards and a pen handy to write a little note of encouragement to a shut-in? Get a prayer list and intercede for others. Travel around the world by means of prayer. Pastor Jack Hyles said, "There is no life so empty as a self-centered life, and there is no life so centered as a self-emptied life." As you pour out yourself to others, the Holy Spirit will continually pour Himself into you. ~Adrian Rogers

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